A High Court judge has rejected a call to keep Julian Assange in jail while the courts consider Sweden's extradition request.
The Wikileaks founder, wanted in Sweden for questioning in relation to alleged sex crimes, was granted bail on Tuesday, but was held in prison pending today's appeal by the Crown Prosecution Service.
He …

Sorry to go off topic, but I have to pick s.pam up on this....

No we don't. Even legal immigrants usually have "NO RECOURSE TO PUBLIC FUNDS". You can't be illegal and get "free money" - you get precisely nothing. If you mean asylum seekers, then they are not allowed to work whilst their claims are processed so are given usually pretty meagre benefits, no matter what your tabloid of choice might tell you. As for rights, even hard-working fully legal immigrants are often not allowed visits from overseas relatives in case they overstay - I know as I'm struggling to get my brother-in-law here for a holiday now - it's not easy! Know what you're talking about before spouting off.

Sorry for the off-topic rant folks but I hate how this kind of lazy prejudice gets repeated and reinforced and taken as absolute fact.

S. pam, you have devalued an otherwise valid point about Julian Assange with your fact-free off-topic tabloid bigotry.

Yeah...

Don't speak too soon

If you guys were willing to give up Gary, you will give Julian up too if the US asks. I have never seen so much drama over being wanted for questioning in all my life. Maybe having to pay a huge bail is standard fare there. Even with your better press and parliamentary system, your politicians still do the opposite of what you guys ask of them.

Over here in the states you don't need to post a bail if you have not been formally charged with a crime... Wanted for questioning means you just need to be picked up to give a statement.

I do acknowledge that if Jullian was an American citizen and was captured here, im sure he would be treated just as badly if not worse. All they have to do is mutter the "T" word....

independent of US pressure?

How is basically being placed under house arrest independence of US pressure?

They can pick him up any time they like, they can monitor his every move and as they know where he is, they can even monitor all his communications.

So don't hold it up as this wonderful example of freedom from US pressure. Superficially its sounds like a nice sound byte but when looked at in detail, its meaningless at best and at worse it comes across as very sycophantic to the government. Oh how wonderful of the government's fair moves. Bullshit, it means nothing.

If our government were truly independent they would exposed the current diplomatic communications between the US, Sweden and the UK, then tell the US and Sweden where to put their extradition paperwork. Then and only then would I say we were independent of US pressure. As it is, our leaders in their own words say they are worried about their "special relationship" with the US, which basically means bending over to their US counterparts and taking it relentlessly.

What's the best way to send the man some money these days?

Vindictive Crown Prosecution Service

Given the disproportionately high bail, together with other conditions, Assange was practically guaranteed to walk today - obviously an attempt by a vindictive Crown pissed off at losing the decision and wanting to drive Assange's costs higher.

Now that we know who forced this failed gearing, when is the Anonymous group going to test the UK government's cyber defences?

The weird thing is

The new judge said he accepted the argument that Assange's supporters paying bail might see an escape as reasonable in order to keep WikiLeaks running. This is kinda stupid, since WikiLeaks is obviously running fine without Assange.

free of pressure?

I doubt they are free of pressure but they are in a no win situation, free him and annoy uncle Sam, or detain him and annoy the people.... glad to see him getting out though, he's done nothing to warrant imprisonment.

good stuff

Seasons Greetings

Joke comments

The UK and Sweden are equally open to US pressure, and Assange is no safer from trumped up US espionage charges on bail than he was in prison. The priority of believers in freedom of speech and transparency in government should be setting up a defence force worthy of the name rather than trusting in the dubious independence of our legal system or the half-arsed shenanigans of Anonymous.

It's all bull.

evil merkins

Thats right because everyone in America is a right wing Darwin hating Palin loving gun toting redneck Republican moron that wants to destroy the rest of the world (granted we do have far more of these folks than we need but still). Yes our government always sucks but whose doesn't really. Remember this is the land where FOSS got big as well as many other lefty leaning movements (hippies, etc). Careful with that broad brush.

@evil

The same can be said about Russia, Germany, France and the UK. Lord Protector and Napoleon anyone ?

I am a white ("caucasian") guy and I admit having not been too much concerned about the nasty treatment of people with darker skin by the U.S. because of all that crap emanating from Wahabistan. Not good from my side, probably.

Now the U.S. government is trying to nail down a white guy like me and I realize it is time to fight. Overall, the U.S. State is a completely unapologetic bully who will never even say "sorry". Did Obama say "sorry" for the mistake/malice of his predecessor ? Did Vice President Candidate Palin say "sorry" ? No, she hinted that Assange should be, well, what ? Abducted ? Killed ? Poisoned ? Ah, yes just be declared a terrorist.

A Canadian Official hinting at "killing by drone" ?

I now fully well understand why de Gaulle built the Nuclear Arsenal Of France with French Engineers. He knew that France needed it not just against Russia, but also against America.

RE: @evil

".....I now fully well understand why de Gaulle built the Nuclear Arsenal Of France...." Really? I thought it was more as a way of not having to ask the English or the Yanks for help the next time the Germans came round to give the Les Francais a good kicking. Of course, the fact that ickle France got to hide behind the NATO shield whilst squealing on and on and on about their independence does kinds undermine the whole argument. Maybe it was so de Gaulle could shoot really large white flags into orbit?

Hope he sues for wrongful arrest.

Since the Swedish prosecutors have already thrown this out once saying there is no case to answer. I'm all for rapists being nailed to trees upside down, but if the summary of this case in the Daily Fail is anything to go by there is no wonder the Swedes originally through the case out.

I want to see ...

Title

>Thats right because everyone in America is a right wing Darwin hating Palin loving gun toting redneck Republican moron that wants to destroy the rest of the world<

Admitting it is the first step... Joking. Unfortunately there's right minded people, bankers and politicians. Normal people just want to get on with their lives, don't want wars or people starving in the third world or children being raped or terrorists blowing things up. And then there's bankers and politicians who have a vested interest in the above things.

Used to be the church and state controlling the populace but they allowed the serfs to learn to read.

RE: Title

".....And then there's bankers and politicians who have a vested interest in the above things...." Yes, you mean like George Soros, allegedly the cash if not the mastermind behind the Obumbler's rise, and also thought to be funding Wikileaks, a "liberal" and also one of the most successful investment bankers alive. Oh, but did that blow a big hole in your spoonfed beliefs? So much easier to blame all the World's ills on "bankers" just because they have more money, isn't it?

Bored with stories about ASSange

RE: Bored with stories about ASSange

I'm guessing you missed the one about how Grace Mugabe is suing a Zimabawean paper for repeating one of the Wikileaks cables that linked her and Mugabe's cronies to the massive appropriation of Zimbabwean diamond mining profits? No-one had really paid any attention to the matter until Grace Mugabe said she was intent on "clearing the Mugabes' good name"!

My take on this

As many of you will know, i am neutral in this i.e. i don't support wikileaks and assange or the governments. The sex case against him is either trumped up or real (sadly we cannot read people's minds). From what i understand what constitutes rape in Sweden is different from that in Britain. What i don't like is some wiki supporters sending demeaning messages to these rape victims (i am sure victims of rape will condemn their actions)

tracking? oh yes we can!

I wonder, can you use on of those wonderful british government ankle devices as a tracking target for a US drone? Wait for the bang, Sweden set him up, England supplied the tracking device, US will supply the attack drone, bye bye mansion, must have been an unfortunate gas explosion!